“Thanks to Salvini and Berlusconi, they are making my job easier” – Corriere.it

The manoeuvre, the criticisms, the very tiring climb, the lawsuits, and the noisy allies who, despite everything, are “making her job easy”: it is a Giorgia Meloni who is told in the round the one who is celebrated by the people of Fratelli d’Italia in Piazza del Popolo for the tenth anniversary of the party. «This is a party that looks to the future and where we can sum up what we have built over the years, above all so as not to forget where we come from, because government is always a risky thing from this point of view. However it’s the challenge that decides if you’re really up to the task, if you can do what you promised, if you can’t get lost, if you can’t change, if you manage not to get over your head and to be exactly the person, the reality and the ideas that the citizens wanted to govern the nation», says Meloni as soon as she returns from the funeral of Fabio Antonio Altruda, Eurofighter pilot. «Today my mother moved me a lot because she told me“ I will be strong like her ”. I want to send my condolences and the government’s to this family for this boy who fought for the tricolor flag that we will fly high », she added.

The results

«Ten years of Fratelli d’Italia are a winning bet – says Meloni – no one could have imagined what is happening today. I remember that before the last European elections in 2019, for the first time I said to myself that if we hadn’t passed the threshold I would consider putting my job back. Nothing has ever been easy for us – she recalls – and there have been years in which we felt like a `hamster in a wheel´ without seeing the results of what we were doing. And instead we did 6.4. Seven years to make 6.4 to 24 of the last political elections, estimated 30 and more and today », claims Meloni, receiving the applause of the assembly and remembering that we arrived “in government at the most difficult moment in republican history”.

Teamwork

Meloni claims teamwork: «It’s not something I did alone, tonight I feel at home. And it’s the first time that as president of FdI I haven’t been involved in an event like this, which also meant asking how many chairs you ordered. I couldn’t afford it this time, the demonstration was entirely conceived without me, by a ruling class that this party has and which allowed that miracle», explains the Prime Minister, considering herself a “standard bearer” of that work. Meloni does not hesitate to thank Berlusconi, Salvini, and all the delegates, because they are “making her job easy”: the climate is fundamental, she recalls, thus silencing the boos and murmurs that greeted Berlusconi’s speech. «We are a political and cultural proposition too profound to be included in a label. We are not different from what we were, we are different from what others wanted to tell about us. The truth comes out. We must be very aware of the responsibility we have».

The program

“I don’t think I’ll be re-elected in five years. I also think about getting my life back. I don’t look at consensus, at polls. It is possible that what we will do will not be understood immediately ». I won’t look at the polls, but at the GDP curve, employment data, how many children are having»: so Meloni looking to the future. The prime minister wants to “know that she has done what she could do to improve the conditions of this nation,” she insists. For Meloni this government “is many things together”, and above all it is the first government for ten years wanted by a clear vote. And it is for this reason that “we will overturn the” negative predictions “even on duration”, promises.

The budget law

The maneuver? Meloni is “very satisfied”: “There is the idea we have of the economy of this nation, the signal of the government’s priorities, and the commitment with the voters. We have put a billion and a half on the family, reduced VAT on childcare products, increased the single allowance for families with more than three children, extended parental leave: the family is there». The criticisms of Confindustria? “They are legitimate stakeholders but they don’t have the responsibility of making ends meet like us. More than half of the resources we used to secure businesses. When, as Confindustria does, they tell me that I have to do more, they also tell me where to get the resources». Those of the union would instead be “bizarre” criticisms, “they defend pos and indexation of lower pensions”. «I met the unions and I intend to do it again – Meloni specifies – Then I have great respect for the square. But this is a government that does. A government that puts its face on choices. And if someone thinks that organizing demonstrations scares us, they are wrong. We don’t get scared or back down.”

The disagreements with Macron

The clash with France? «We are not in elementary school, he is the president of France and I am the president of the Council, the dynamics are a little less personal and more policies. Italy and France are defending their interests, aware that a solution must then be found. If today Europe puts the central Mediterranean route among its priorities for the first time, it is because Italy has raised the problem», explains Meloni. According to Meloni, redistribution does not solve the problems. «The solution must not be found in relocations, but in the common commitment to defend the borders of the EU, and if the European Council has decided that the next meeting will be dedicated to the immigration issue, it is due to the fact that Italy has stopped accepting supinely what could not be accepted». “I spoke to Macron, we meet every three days, we greet each other, we talk to each other, then there are issues on which you agree more and others less”.

The anti-rave law? “They can be done, but respecting the rules”

The premier also replies on the disputed rule on raves. «I heard a speech by the group leader of the Greens on this provision. I could not intervene but summarize. The thesis was this: block the need for entertainment of many young people, the desire to be together. The point is not that you can no longer organize a rave, but that you don’t do it illegally, but respecting the rules set by the Italian State at 360°, it means that you ask for authorisations, you pay taxes, that is what all the poor bastards who do all those who want to organize something. And I point out: that there is no Pos at the rave party», Meloni jokes, arousing a long applause. «The fact that Italy was the favorite destination of these people who came from all over Europe to organize illegal raves, doesn’t that mean anything to you? Now Italy too is making itself respected, it thunders.

The regional elections in Lazio

«Today I am not dissolving» the reservation on the center-right candidate for the presidency of Lazio, «but I say that clearly the indication of the candidate belongs to the Brothers of Italy, however I am very keen on the fact that there is a shared name. Tomorrow I will make a list of three names to the allies and by Monday I will give the name of the candidate”.

The lawsuit against Saviano

Will you withdraw the lawsuit against Saviano? “No, I won’t withdraw it,” says Meloni, receiving a roar of approval. «I sued him as president of the opposition party, but perhaps we should ask ourselves about the degree of democracy of the press that attacks the only opposition there is. Studies have come out that say that I am the most criticized person in Italy, but that’s not the point: he put the responsibility of a child at sea on me, and called me a bastard. I found this very serious and I sued him. Saviano has always reiterated these words: you are an intellectual guru, you will know how to use different words to argue». So, Meloni asks, “I ask the judiciary if calling someone a bastard is criticism or simply an insult?”. According to Meloni, it is Saviano who wants to politicize, she feels “a citizen who has sued another citizen”. For Meloni “everyone must take responsibility for what they do”.

Looking to 2023

A wish for next year? “I hope things go a little better for everyone. We are always feeling sorry for ourselves, but in the last quarter Italy grew more than Spain and France». If you looked at ten years ago? “I’d say mind your business – Meloni jokes – But not even good – as the public incites her to do, ed– I would tell you: very complex days will come, you will ask yourself many times whether you have made the right choice, but continue to believe that the Italians will understand. Example is the greatest thing you can do to convince someone. And people, whatever the cost, will understand it in the end”.